Currently, there are a number of financial products available to assist users in saving for their short and long term goals. These types of financial plans are used to fulfill user's financial goals which may include funding an emergency fund, college savings, retirement savings, and/or life insurance products. Various annuity plans may be implemented to fulfill these or other financial goals. One example, an Equity Indexed Annuity (“EIA”) may protect against loss in a market, but they also significantly limit the upside potential of the purchaser. Specifically, a holder may reap the rewards of the upside when the index that the annuity is tied to experiences gains, and the holder is protected from a downward trend in a market through a fixed minimum return (such as, for example, 2-3%). A Variable Annuity (“VA”) generally provides performance guarantees, such as accumulation principle guarantees. Other instruments, such as a Bank Equity CDs may also limit a holder's risk, however, like EIAs and other instruments, they also limit upside gains that may be available if the monetary resources were invested in another financial plan or otherwise invested within other instruments.
New and improved instruments that provide protection against market losses and also permit the selection of a level of protection and market growth potential would be desirable.